Councilwoman Jeannine Pearce was publicly condemned by her colleagues Tuesday night for violating Long Beach’s code of ethics, a rare move that had not been done in 25 years.

The City Council unanimously voted to censure Pearce – governmental finger-wagging that has no legal repercussions – because of a series of scandals that came to light after a late-night dispute last summer between Pearce and her former chief of staff, Devon Cotter, on the side of the 710 freeway. A subsequent police investigation revealed the two had been dating for three years.

Pearce did not vote.

“I’m sorry for my actions,” Pearce said in a prepared statement during the meeting. “Hopefully, with the censure, we can move forward.”

The last time the council censured one of its own was in 1993, after then-Councilman Douglas S. Drummond made inflammatory, anti-gay comments at the height of the HIV-AIDS epidemic.

The move to censure Pearce, who represents District 2 in the southern portion of the city, came from four of her colleagues: Councilmembers Al Austin, Suzie Price, Daryl Supernaw and Dee Andrews.

Neither they nor any of the other council members discussed the censure before voting, sparking vocal displeasure from some in the audience.

But afterward, Austin, who initially brought the item forward, said it was time for the council to act.

“It was important for the council to make a statement to let the residents of Long Beach know that we don’t condone our colleague’s actions,” Austin said. “We did that tonight.”

The city’s code of ethics requires officials to avoid conflicts of interest, adhere to all laws and regulations and “exercise prudence and good judgment at all times.” Pearce, in having a relationship with a subordinate, also violated Long Beach’s sexual harassment policy and, because of a domestic violence investigation after the 710 dispute, put the Police Department’s integrity at risk – with many alleging preferential treatment for the councilwoman.

“Given the information that has been made publicly available to this City Council,” the staff report for the censure said, “the actions by Councilmember Pearce did not adhere to the city’s code of ethics.”

Pearce and Cotter dated for about three years; the relationship, documents show, began before the councilwoman hired Cotter in July 2016 and continued for months after they broke up.

In June of last year, the two were returning from a concert together when they started arguing. Pearce pulled over on the 710, where CHP officers found the pair around 2:40 a.m. The councilwoman later admitted she had been drinking on that night.

Austin said the censure was prepared six months ago, but he and his colleagues did not want to influence the signature-gathering for the recall.

“It’s about time,” said Jonathan Crouch, who initially launched the Facebook page to recall Pearce. “The council took a stand. The city doesn’t want these kinds of actions.”

In Council Chambers, which was mostly full, a little more than half of the approximately 20 speakers approved of the censure.

But it also got testy, with boos echoing throughout the chamber when one speaker said Pearce should resign for the sake of her children.

After a Pearce supporter used her three minutes for a moment of silence in honor of Pearce and domestic violence supporters, District 4 resident Richard Landemann shouted, “As useful as Jeannine.”

After the vote to censure Pearce, the council took a five-minute break. A group of recall supporters went to the lobby to cheer the vote. But Landemann took the recess to chat calmly with District 2 resident and Pearce supporter Sara Angevine.

“It’s all political,” said Angevine, a political science professor at Whittier College, noting that Pearce has been a long-time supporter of women’s rights, unions, and protections for hotel workers. “It’s a good move if you want her gone.”

Responded Landemann: “What this is about is her hiring her boyfriend to be on her staff, and telling police she was a councilwoman.”

Chris Haire covers Long Beach City Hall for the Press-Telegram. He previously was a general assignment reporter for the Orange County Register, covering everything from spot news to human-interest features. He has been with the Register and Southern California News Group since December 2012. He graduated with honors from the Columbia University School of Journalism, with a master's degree. Chris also has a bachelor's degree in journalism from San Francisco State University and would like, one day, to get a doctorate in history. (He's kind of nerdy.) He also loves Russian literature, including Tolstoy, Dostoevsky, Pushkin and Solzhenitsyn.